(a)
The California Small Agricultural Business Drought and Flood Relief Grant Program is hereby created within the office.
(b)
The program shall be under the direct authority of the director.
(c)
The purpose of the program is to provide grants to qualified small agricultural businesses that have been affected by severe drought
and flooding.
(d)
The office may contract with a fiscal agent, or amend an existing contract with a fiscal agent to meet the requirements of this article, to carry out the programs at a rate of no more than 5 percent of administrative and program funds appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of
this article.
(e)
Subject to appropriation of funds for grants by the Legislature, the office shall allocate grants to qualified small agricultural businesses that meet the requirements of this article in one or more rounds.
(f)
(1)
The office shall conduct marketing and outreach for equitable awareness and the distribution of grants that includes all of the following:
(A)
Engaging multiple partners, including, but not limited to, business and nonprofit associations, chambers of commerce, economic development corporations, and other nonprofit mission-based organizations, and organizations with nonprofit expertise.
(B)
Providing access to technical assistance services covering all counties
in the state and in multiple languages to reach non-English-speaking individuals in all counties in the state.
(C)
Building awareness, including those in underserved and underbanked communities, by collaborating with multiple community groups to distribute program information, provide applicant access through multiple branded partner portals, or advertising or social media outreach through owned, paid, or earned media channels.
(2)
For the qualified small agricultural business portion of the program, the office shall conduct outreach in advance of open application rounds for a minimum of three weeks prior to opening each application round. Following each application round, the fiscal agent shall assess service gaps and address outreach deficiencies as necessary to improve program equity.
(3)
The office or fiscal
agent shall provide information on how to connect to additional support resources to each applicant, whether or not the applicant is selected as a grant recipient.
(g)
Program grant funds
allocated in the Budget Act of 2022 related to drought impacts shall be administered as follows:
(1)
A total of 10 percent of grant funds shall be held for qualified small agricultural businesses that do not file 2022 tax year returns until 2024.
(2)
A total of 20 percent of grant funds shall be allocated in one or more rounds of grants for small and socially disadvantaged farmers who are qualified small agricultural businesses pursuant to the following:
(A)
Grants shall be awarded in the following amounts:
(i)
Twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for applicants with a decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits of 10 percent or more and less than 30 percent.
(ii)
Sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) for applicants with a decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits of 30 percent or more and less than 40 percent.
(iii)
Eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) for applicants with a decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits of 40 percent or more and less than 50 percent.
(iv)
One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for applicants with a decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits of 50 percent or more.
(B)
The office or fiscal agent shall allocate up to 5 percent of program funds to nonprofit entities, tribal governments, resource conservation districts, or other entities with experience providing
technical assistance to small farms or socially disadvantaged farmers to provide services to help maximize the participation of small farms or socially disadvantaged farmers in the one or more rounds of grants authorized by this subdivision.
(C)
For the purposes of this subdivision:
(i)
“Small farm” has the meaning described in the publication Updating the ERS Farm Typology, dated April 2013, issued by Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.
(ii)
“Socially disadvantaged farmer” has the meaning provided by subdivision (b) of Section 512 of the Food and Agricultural Code, as it read on August 1, 2022.
(D)
For the purposes of this subdivision, the office or fiscal agent may contract with other fiscal agents to provide
technical assistance.
(E)
The office shall consult with the Farm Equity Advisor at the Department of Food and Agriculture for purposes of implementing this subdivision.
(3)
(A)
The remaining percentage of grant funds shall be allocated to qualified small agricultural businesses most impacted by severe drought, including, but not limited to, those that are identified as in the following 2022 North American Industry Classification System codes:
(i)
Codes beginning with 115 – Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry.
(ii)
Codes beginning with 311 – Food Manufacturing.
(iii)
424910 – Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers.
(iv)
444240 – Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers.
(v)
484220 – Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Local (local agricultural products trucking).
(vi)
Codes beginning with 1121 – Cattle Ranching and Farming.
(B)
Grants shall be awarded in the following amounts:
(i)
Sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) for applicants with a decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits of 30 percent or more and less than 40 percent.
(ii)
Eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) for applicants with a decline in annual gross
receipts or gross profits of 40 percent or more and less than 50 percent.
(iii)
One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for applicants with a decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits of 50 percent or more.
(4)
Grant moneys awarded under this subdivision shall only be used for costs to maintain the recipient business through the drought, including the following:
(A)
Employee expenses, including payroll costs, health care benefits, paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums.
(B)
Working capital and overhead, including rent, utilities, mortgage principal, and interest payments, but excluding mortgage prepayments, and debt obligations, including principal and interest, incurred before the onset of severe drought.
(C)
Any other drought-related expenses not already covered through grants, forgivable loans, or other relief through state, county, or city programs.
(h)
Program grant funds allocated in the Budget Act of 2023 related to storm flooding impacts shall be administered as follows:
(1)
Grant funds shall be allocated to qualified small agricultural businesses impacted by flooding including, but not limited to, those that are identified as in the following 2022 North American Industry Classification System codes:
(A)
Codes beginning with 115 – Support Activities for
Agriculture and Forestry.
(B)
Codes beginning with 1121 – Cattle Ranching and Farming.
(C)
424910 – Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers.
(D)
444240 – Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers.
(E)
484220 – Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Local (local agricultural products trucking).
(2)
Three tiers of grant amounts shall be relative to revenue levels for qualified small agricultural businesses, to be determined by CalOSBA.
(3)
Grant moneys awarded under this subdivision may be used for costs to maintain the recipient business through flooding, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A)
Employee expenses, including payroll costs, health care benefits, paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums.
(B)
Working capital and overhead, including rent, utilities, mortgage principal, and interest payments, but excluding mortgage prepayments and debt obligations, including principal and interest, incurred before the onset of flooding.
(C)
Any other flooding-related expenses not already covered through grants, forgivable loans, or other relief through state, county, or city programs.
(i)
Applicants may apply for relief grants under subdivisions (g) and (h).
(j)
(1)
Applicants may self-identify race, gender, and ethnicity. Within 30 business days of the close of the application period, the office shall post the aggregate data, as available, including by legislative district. Within 45 business days of the close of the application period, the office shall post information on grant amounts actually awarded as it
becomes available. All information shall be posted on the office’s internet website and the office shall provide an electronic copy of the information to the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature.
(2)
On or before December 31, 2026, the office shall report to the Legislature the number of grants and dollar amounts awarded for each of the following categories:
(A)
Race and ethnicity.
(B)
Women-owned.
(C)
Veteran-owned.
(D)
Located in a disadvantaged community pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (h) of Section 12100.83.
(E)
Located in a rural area.
(F)
County.
(G)
State Senate district.
(H)
State Assembly district.
(3)
Information report to the Legislature pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided in conformance with the requirements of Section 9795.
(k)
The fiscal agent, or the office if it does not contract with a fiscal agent, shall issue Internal Revenue Service Forms 1099 to grant recipients and otherwise adhere to tax reporting guidelines, regardless of whether the grants are excluded from gross income for purposes of the Personal Income Tax Law (Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code) or the Corporation Tax Law (Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code).
